


Motherless

by toffeecat (Hero_of_Denerim)



Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Backstory, Gen, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2019-01-05 07:40:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12185757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hero_of_Denerim/pseuds/toffeecat
Summary: It had been some time since he had been in Mother's Heart.





	Motherless

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [fandomweekly](http://fandomweekly.dreamwidth.org)'s prompt #038 - Bloodline.

It had been some time since he had been in Mother's Heart. Almost two decades by now. All of this because of this stupid mistake he had made, just to prove himself before the other braves...

He sighed, and shook his head as he walked up the steps towards the High Matriarch's seat. Over time, he had let go of most thoughts that were as frustrated as these, even though they sometimes slithered into his mind; acceptance was the only thing he could strife for. Anger would make his fate only more unbearable.

Instead, he picked up his pace; while he knew he was tolerated for the time being, if only to respect Teersa's wish, he would not risk anything. He was an outcast, and he did not belong; not anymore.

On his way through the main settlement, Rost noticed only few changes; but maybe it was only the way the flames of the bonfires licked greedily at the air that made the familiar become strange. The Nora were a traditional people, hesitant to bring something new into their lives. And after the Red Raids, who could blame them? Certainly not him... Their traditions kept them safe from outsiders. Or outcasts.

He passed by the few sentries posted around the fires, and felt their stares burn through his leathers into his skin. They knew what he was. He tried his best to ignore them; if they had decided him to be dangerous, his back would had been riddled with arrows already. This certainty served to calm his nerves, as macabre as it was.

Eventually, he arrived at the topmost part of the village. Here, the mountain had an opening, leading to the temple and, as he had been taught as a child, to All-Mother herself.

For a short while, he stood awkwardly before the opening, unwilling to so much as gaze towards it. The matriarchs were inside, but he could not bring himself to enter. It was one thing to be allowed to live in the Embrace, but another to desecrate All-Mother...

"I am glad you followed my call."

The sudden appearance of the High Matriarch startled him, though not as much as the fact that she addressed him. He quickly averted his gaze. Teersa should not be forced to violate tribal law because of him.

"I allow you to speak to me, Rost. I did not summon you here to open old wounds." She walked back inside the mountain but stopped, when he hesitated. "Please, follow me."

He obliged, albeit with a respectful distance between them. At this time of day, the cave was abandoned. Teersa led him further, past the holy grounds of the temple and through narrow, sparsely lit tunnels, only pausing to see if he still followed.

Then, the scenery changed. The natural cave gave way to something akin to the ancient structures he had come across while hunting machines; slick, black walls, cold lights... A ruin, left behind by the Old Ones.

At the end of the hall, a bundle of leathers and furs lay before the wall. Teersa carefully lifted it from the floor.

"This is why I have called you here."

His confusion was clearly written across his face, as the matriarch chuckled lowly. "Yes, _she_ is exactly what you think this is. But she must not stay here. The others do not understand her purpose. They are afraid.

"When she appeared, right here, they thought her a curse and wanted her dead. A motherless child..." She shook her head, her voice laced with sorrow.

"I would not place this burden on both of you, but she needs someone to take care of her. Raise her as your own, Rost. Keep her safe, so that one day, she may fulfil the purpose that brought her into the world, whatever it will be." She looked around, as she gently handed him the bundle. Red tufts of hair peeked out of it, over a hint of a pale forehead. "She had been given to us by the All-Mother; a gift to us. They are just too blind to see it."

Anger flickered briefly in her eyes, breaking through her otherwise gentle demeanor with an intensity he had never believed her to be capable of.

"I will," he vowed, cradling the infant in his arms. "I will give her a home and be her family, teach her everything I know until All-Mother calls upon her."

Teersa nodded, satisfied. "You are doing our people a great service, Rost, even if the others are too narrow-minded to see it. I can only hope that, someday, they will see the wisdom of All-Mother's actions as well. For your sake, and hers.

"And now, go, before the others see you with her! There is just so much I can do to shield you from their fury once they find out."

She knelt down before the massive black wall; a sign that their conversation was over. Not wanting to overstay his welcome, he shot a last glance towards her, lost in silent meditation, then he turned and left the way he came. All the while he kept the infant girl clutched tightly to his chest.


End file.
